Ruth M. Messer

YORK HARBOR, Maine — Ruth Marilyn Messer, 87, previously of Birchwood Road in Claremont, N.H., and on Little Lake Sunapee in New London, N.H., died Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013, at Sentry Hill in York Harbor.

YORK HARBOR, Maine — Ruth Marilyn Messer, 87, previously of Birchwood Road in Claremont, N.H., and on Little Lake Sunapee in New London, N.H., died Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013, at Sentry Hill in York Harbor.

She was born June 20, 1926, in Worcester, Mass., the daughter of William T. and Mary (Davis) Northridge.

Ruth had graduated from Colby Junior College in New London in 1946 and Boston University in Boston, Mass., in 1948.

She had worked for Sinclair Machine Products as a secretary and was a teacher at North Street and Disnard Elementary schools from 1968 to 1995.

Ruth was a member of the Trinity Episcopal Church and was an Altar Guild and Sunday School teacher. She was also a member of Beta Sigma Phi Sorority for 50 years, a Girl Scout leader, and a member of the Retired Teachers Association, Soo-Nippi Quilters and the Claremont Senior Center.

She had traveled to many different places, including Hawaii, Europe, Alaska, Canada and the Caribbean.

The surviving family includes one son, Craig A. Messer and his wife, Cynthia, of Claremont; two daughters, Cynthia Messer Hart and her husband, Michael, of Portsmouth, N.H., and Jill Messer Barrett and her husband, Charles, of Kittery Point; grandchildren Thomas Hart of Quincy, Mass., Benjamin Hart of Portsmouth, Scott Messer and his fiancee, Suzette Stevens, of Claremont, Eric Messer and his wife, Ann, of East Falmouth, Mass., Joseph Messer of Claremont, and Cameron and Hailey Barrett, both of Kittery Point; one sister-in-law, Doris Messer Cutter of New London; and several nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Ruth was the widow of Roy Frank Messer, whom she married on June 25, 1948; he died Aug. 6, 2003. She was also predeceased by one brother, Bernard Northridge; one sister, Jeannette Northridge Tucker; and Nina Ballard Northridge, who raised her after her mother passed away shortly after her birth.

SERVICES: Friends may call from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, at the Stringer Funeral Home, 146 Broad St., Claremont. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at the Trinity Episcopal Church on Broad Street in Claremont. Interment will be at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Old Main Street Cemetery in New London. To continue Ruth's advocacy for children, donations in lieu of flowers may be made in her name to Trinity Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 172, Claremont, NH 03743, to help them with the feeding of hungry children in Claremont, or to the Little Lake Sunapee Protective Association, c/o June Fichter, P.O. Box 683, Sunapee, NH 03782. To view an online memorial or send a private message of condolence, visit www.stringerfh.com.

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